18 Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions.
19 He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.
I sent verse 18 for context but I want to focus on verse 19 and more specifically, the last phrase.
This is similar to 1 Corinthians 3:6 (Bible Truth #118) in which God is Who makes not only the seeds of Truth grow in someone’s heart, but also the Church itself. This should not be surprising to you or anyone who believes in a sovereign God. It is HE Who causes the Church to grow, and it is not dependent on anything we do or don’t do. What we observe in people, what they say or do, are actually reactions to what God has done in them (Philippians 2:13).
The church, as well as individual members of the Church, grow spiritually at God’s pleasure and purpose. If someone is growing, it’s because God is working in them to will and to do according to His good purpose (Philippians 2:13). And the same holds true if someone isn’t growing - God is also working in THEM to will and to do according to His good purpose. God has a plan for each of us and there is NOTHING a man can do or not do that will thwart that plan (Isaiah 14:27). God is sovereign and has control over our very thoughts and actions! This includes Arminians, and this includes Calvinists.
God glorifies EVERY man He calls (Romans 8:30) and ONLY those He calls.
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